Third Party Press

BYF 45 Kriegsmodell

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bigwagon

Senior Member
My first post and my first K98 Mauser!

Lately I've been kicking around the idea of picking up a representative K98K to round out my milsurp collection, maybe with a Russian Capture or a Yugo 98/48, but I stumbled onto this one last week and was able to pick it up today. Last week I was in a local gun shop picking up a really nice Smith & Wesson pre-model 27 .357 Magnum when a guy came in with about a dozen rifles and shotguns he inherited from his father. In the pile were four military rifles, two Israeli 7.6- converted Czech K98s, a Remington 03A3 and this BYF 45 K98K. I was interested in the latter two and asked the shop to call me when they had prices on them. I was out of town over Thanksgiving weekend so stopped in today to finish the transfer on the S&W and asked about the rifles. They still hadn't priced them, so I made an offer on the BYF and 03A3 and took them both home.

JgoRxweh.jpg


I had been doing some research on the K98 over the weekend, including on this site, and it looks pretty righteous to me. Numbers match on the bolt, shroud and firing pin, the stock is unfinished and has a couple of Eagle/Wa stamps on the butt and wrist, the bore is perfect and the overall finish on the metal and stock look unmessed with. The only thing that looks out of order is the retaining screw for the front barrel band, which doesn't match the other two and looks like a hardware store wood screw. I would also expect a late-war rifle to have a stamped floorplate, but I have seen some other BYF 45s with milled plates, so maybe that's correct? I don't know about the sling either.

Here's a link to more detail shots:

https://imgur.com/a/efKJgXw

I'd love to hear opinions about the overall condition and originality of this rifle and thoughts on value.
 
Wow, I didn't even notice that. Probably explains why the screw doesn't match. The name "Dixon" is written lightly in ink on the left side of the butt. Maybe that's the guy who brought it home.
 
bigwagon said:
My first post and my first K98 Mauser!

Lately I've been kicking around the idea of picking up a representative K98K to round out my milsurp collection, maybe with a Russian Capture or a Yugo 98/48, but I stumbled onto this one last week and was able to pick it up today. Last week I was in a local gun shop picking up a really nice Smith & Wesson pre-model 27 .357 Magnum when a guy came in with about a dozen rifles and shotguns he inherited from his father. In the pile were four military rifles, two Israeli 7.6- converted Czech K98s, a Remington 03A3 and this BYF 45 K98K. I was interested in the latter two and asked the shop to call me when they had prices on them. I was out of town over Thanksgiving weekend so stopped in today to finish the transfer on the S&W and asked about the rifles. They still hadn't priced them, so I made an offer on the BYF and 03A3 and took them both home.

JgoRxweh.jpg


I had been doing some research on the K98 over the weekend, including on this site, and it looks pretty righteous to me. Numbers match on the bolt, shroud and firing pin, the stock is unfinished and has a couple of Eagle/Wa stamps on the butt and wrist, the bore is perfect and the overall finish on the metal and stock look unmessed with. The only thing that looks out of order is the retaining screw for the front barrel band, which doesn't match the other two and looks like a hardware store wood screw. I would also expect a late-war rifle to have a stamped floorplate, but I have seen some other BYF 45s with milled plates, so maybe that's correct? I don't know about the sling either.

Here's a link to more detail shots:

https://imgur.com/a/efKJgXw

I'd love to hear opinions about the overall condition and originality of this rifle and thoughts on value.
Click to expand...

Very nice kreigsmodell! I'm a sucker for white glue laminate stocks. You stock appears untouched, with the exception of a shortened front band area. This explains your issue with that new front band screw. The stock has been shortened by a few inches, possibly a duffle cut. The small piece of wood was not reconnected and the front band position was adjusted accordingly. There are a couple of members here who can match the laminate perfectly. Bruce and Clay come to mind. Clay may also have that correct style screw you need.
 
Nice find. Also has his laundry number on the sling. Brought home by

Philip D. Dixon ASN 36205808
Residence:
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Date of Enlistment:
27 March 1941
Place of Enlistment:
Milwaukee Wisconsin
Year of Birth:
1917
 
That’s a really nice rifle, make sure you don’t try to oil that stock, it will ruin it. It needs a front end repaired by someone who knows what they are doing. Very valuable too in that condition.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Rifles stocks were cut down to fit the regulated shipping box size, for yours they just put the cap back on the end. Rear screw is original, front is a replacement as you suspect.
 
I really like it. The stock is beautiful and if it was repaired properly it would really make a nice example.
 
Nice rifle. I like the vet name on it. Adds some neat character. Don't touch the stock with anything. It is perfect the way it is. Maybe just fix the duffel cut. Thanks for sharing.
 
I didn’t notice that at first, missed the last pictures, cool that it’s on the sling too! Some people don’t like stuff like that but it doesn’t bother me. Here’s one with initials too.
 

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mrfarb said:
Rifles stocks were cut down to fit the regulated shipping box size, for yours they just put the cap back on the end. Rear screw is original, front is a replacement as you suspect.
Click to expand...

Mike, has any documentation ever been found to support this? I for one believe duffle cuts were done for convenience. Based on my personal observations and rifles in my collection, approximately 15% are duffle cut. So how did so many remain uncut if regulations existed? Look at the PTO, I can count on one hand the ones that have been duffle cut. So if regulations existed for the ETO why not for the PTO?

Jeff
 
bigwagon said:
Thanks for all the info. I'm kind of bummed about the stock cut, but the bringback angle makes up for it somewhat. Guess I would consider looking into restoring the stock. Any leads/contacts on who could do that? How much does the cut stock affect the value? I have seen some pretty high prices for similar rifles without any mods, like this one:

https://www.rockislandauction.com/d...-byf-45-code-k98-bolt-action-rifle-with-sling
Click to expand...

I mentioned Bruce and Clay " flynaked" in my original post. They are both artists
 
jsz said:
Mike, has any documentation ever been found to support this? I for one believe duffle cuts were done for convenience. Based on my personal observations and rifles in my collection, approximately 15% are duffle cut. So how did so many remain uncut if regulations existed? Look at the PTO, I can count on one hand the ones that have been duffle cut. So if regulations existed for the ETO why not for the PTO?

Jeff
Click to expand...

Bring-backs at Fort Lewis - December 1945
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?sh...forum.com/showthread.php?t=34088&share_type=t


I’d say mailed home were cut based on a lot of boxed guns I’ve seen and owned. Check out the bring backs above.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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